Romans 5:7-9

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Analogia de Haeresis

Below is an analogy of "heresies".  Though the term heresy seems to have as many definitions as there are persons willing to apply it, I think it is necessary to offer one more to help explain my purposes in this article.  I simply refer to the term as an idea or conception of truth  and reality that at least appears Christian, but upon measurement against scripture and orthodox historical theology, it is found to deny such doctrines so as to render it non-Christian.   Having said that, here is a list of such bodies of belief to which I've applied the analogy of a man and his creation of a statue as a self portrait so to explain in the simplest way possible, the teachings behind the terms that name them.

Arianism - The Man makes a statue that bears His resemblance.  The Man then sits on top of the statue and proclaims his existence to the statue.

Marcianism - The Man makes a statue that bears His resemblance.  The Man hates the statue and contemplates its destruction.  The Man has a Son and The Son and The Son loves the statue and, against His Father's wishes, He claims it for His own.

Pelagianism - The Man makes a statue that bears His resemblance. The Man leaves the statue to its own devises, and the statue is left to will itself to life.

Romanism - The Man makes a statue that bears His resemblance. The Man gives the statue life, but it must wonder back and forth in order to maintain its life.  If it stumbles, then it must bring its broken pieces to another man whom The Man has hired, so that man can take the pieces to The Man so He can mend its pieces.  If the statue stumbles and breaks its head off in a fall, it must take its head to the hireling and the hireling entreats The Man to remake the statue and re-constitute it with new life.  Once The Man decides not to remake the statue, the pieces are loaded into a dump truck which drives aimlessly around until The Man decides the statue's worth is such that it can finally go to the New Quarry to work for His Son.

Unitarianism - The Man makes a statue that bears His resemblance. The Man has no son of His own, but adopts a son ans sends him to stand beside the statue and proclaim his adopted Father's existence.

Annihilationism - The Man makes 2 statues, both bearing His resemblance. The Man gives one of them life,but He leaves the other alone.  The one given life, eventually ends up at the New Quarry working for The Man's Son, while the other is completely destroyed.

Universalism - The Man makes 2 statues, both bearing His resemblance.  The Man gives them both life and they both end up working for His Son at the New Quarry.

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